This is a standout season of the show. This is the season where Married… With Children really takes off, where most of the characters are perfected and the writing is on a seemingly never ending roll. If season two took a big step up in quality from season one, this season takes another three big steps. This season doesn’t need a couple of episodes before hitting its stride in quality; it starts right away with a bunch of great, classic episodes.

Kelly is for the first time in the show downright stupid, something she’d stay for the next nine seasons. Bud begins taking a bigger interest in women and dating, something that would become a running gag for his character in the following eight seasons. Al’s repulsiveness towards Peggy is completed and it would stay this way for the rest of the show. Marcy’s hate for Al and vice versa has also come full circle. Steve is pretty much the same as he was in season two. Not quite as whipped as he used to be, but still madly in love with Marcy.

Some key facts are revealed in this season, most important are the background info about Al’s days as a high-school football player. We’re not told he scored four touchdowns in a single game yet, but we are told he scored the most touchdowns in a season for his team and his nickname was “Touchdown Bundy”. There are two episodes from this season that are especially known to the fans of the show, the name of them with an explanation why follow:

Her Cups Runneth Over: This is the episode that Terry Rakolta sat down and watched with her children. The inappropriateness in this episode prompted her to write to the sponsors of the show, urging them to cancel their commercials that ran during the breaks. The media picked up on the story and she visited talk shows to discuss this issue. Her call for boycotting the show, however, only made more people tune in and the show got more popular. She received a fruit basket every Christmas as a thank you.

I’ll See You In Court AKA The Lost Show: This episode was not aired in America until over 13 years after the taping. The network thought the episode’s content was too crass during the whole Rakolta crusade. It was, however, aired in other countries long before it finally got to air in the USA.

The timing was perfect for this show to hit its stride in overall quality, now that it got a ratings boost thanks to Terry Rakolta. A lot of new fans had found the show thanks to her and many of them stayed devoted fans, which may or may not have helped the show last as long as it did.

This was a great season. One of the very best seasons this show ever made. This is where the magic started to happen. Season three gets a definite 10-star rating from me.